Oakland startup builds ‘social democracy’ app

A social decision making application by Oakland startup Deci, has attracted 3000 users.

Ever find yourself frustrated with the back and forth group messaging, conference calling and group emailing that often precede decision-making in small groups? An Oakland-based startup seeks to end that with a social decision making application they say is designed to deliver “social democracy” in group decision making, based on a concept they call dynamic voting.

From small-group decisions about whether to watch the Oakland Raiders or the San Francisco 49ers to more complex political decisions about whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney would win the November election, at least 3,000 people have signed up to use Deci, a social decision making app designed by Oakland educators Sam Passarow and Nick Resnick that launched in 2012.

Deci allows iPhone and Android users to decide on one of four options by clicking on their preference. The application then aggregates user preferences and makes a decision. In the event of voter apathy, whichever option has the most votes by a specified time becomes the group’s preferred choice.

“Democracy is naturally engrained in group decision making,” said Pasarow, the executive director of Deci. “If you watch a herd of deer or a school of fish, you will notice that they collectively make decisions. We designed this app to bring people together in real life settings rather than just virtually through dynamic voting.”

Dynamic voting, Passarow said, means that a user can vote, read the reactions of their peers in a message board on the app and explain their choice to the group or alter their vote altogether.

“We work in an organization that is very much collective,” Passarow said, “with lots of shared decision making, and often you find yourself bogged down in meetings. The people who are dynamic and compelling often get their way, and we want those who are quiet to step up.”